But Liverpool’s world-class Walton centre in Fazakerley should now transform care by providing a one-stop clinic for MND patients.

The UK’s first dedicated facility of its kind will bring consultants, specialist nurses, physio and occupational therapists, speech therapists and even legal advisors under one roof.

Professor Carolyn Young, who is behind the initiative, said: “The new clinic will offer a fast-track route around the complicated and time-consuming path to receiving proper care and advice.

“Previously, patients would receive a referral from their GP, be diagnosed at the Walton centre, get an appointment to see a specialist nurse, then wait for an appointment to see a physiotherapist, and have another wait to see a speech therapist.

“The whole process could take as long as 60 weeks and it is a huge amount of pressure for a patient.

“The new clinic allows patients to come to one place and be seen by all the relevant professionals.

“It is simple and fast, and with a disease such as MND, people want to get on with living their lives to the fullest without endless rounds of appointments.”

The clinic is jointly run and partly funded by the MND Association and the Walton centre.

It will help more than 100 Merseyside patients as support will cascade through Walton’s satellite clinics in hospitals from Wales to Warrington.

For information, go to www.mndassociation.org or call the MND helpline on 0845 762 6262.